First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 257,522 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors increased its American Financial Group stake by 433.2%, adding 257,522 shares to own 316,974 shares valued at approximately $40.5 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 64.37% of AFG.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Wells Fargo raised its target to $173 with an overweight rating, while Piper Sandler and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods maintained neutral or market-perform views. The consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $150.75.
• AFG shares opened at $143.82, near their $150.02 12-month high, and the company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.88 per share, representing a 2.4% yield and a 33.46% payout ratio.

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) by 433.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 316,974 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 257,522 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.38% of American Financial Group worth $40,481,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AFG. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,506,510 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $192,395,000 after acquiring an additional 240,509 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 5,320 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $679,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 37,462 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,784,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Journey Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of American Financial Group by 7.8% in the first quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,222 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the period. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Financial Group news, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 2,247 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total value of $312,333.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,135 shares in the company, valued at $1,825,765. This trade represents a 14.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider David Lawrence Thompson, Jr. sold 11,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.05, for a total transaction of $1,535,518.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 584,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,882,434.90. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 16.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on AFG. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on American Financial Group from $158.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of American Financial Group in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $150.75.

American Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of AFG stock opened at $143.82 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $132.60. The company has a market cap of $11.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.67 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. American Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.11 and a twelve month high of $150.02.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.54 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. American Financial Group had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 19.50%. The business's revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 11.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. American Financial Group's payout ratio is 33.46%.

American Financial Group Company Profile

American Financial Group, Inc NYSE: AFG is a diversified holding company primarily engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance. Through its flagship subsidiary, Great American Insurance Company, the firm underwrites a broad range of specialty insurance products for commercial and industrial clients, including inland marine, excess and surplus lines, executive liability, and environmental liability coverage. In addition, American Financial Group offers supplemental accident and health insurance and assumes reinsurance risks from other insurers, helping to diversify its underwriting portfolio.

The company traces its roots to 1946, when it was founded by Carl Lindner, Sr.

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